At an Illinois State Board of Elections hearing, attorneys claimed that Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino violated state election law during his 24-year tenure as a state representative.
“The evidence presented showed clearly that his committee did not comply with the law,” Jacob Huebert, senior attorney at Liberty Justice Center told the Illinois Valley Times. “That is a violation of the code.”
Mautino was absent from the hearing. Lawyers on both sides met to discuss further action. At the hearing, evidence was presented on Mautino’s expenditures including a total of $225,000 spent between 1999 and 2015 at a single service station, Happy’s Super Service Station, and more than $159,000 paid to a bank between 2000 and 2015.
“We presented evidence and an officer is going to consider that, then offer a recommendation on what to do about what happened,” Huebert said.
The board, which heard the evidence at the hearing, is not “in a position to take him out of office.” However, harsh penalties can be imposed. At the next hearing, a recommendation along with penalties will be determined, Huebert said.
Mautino has not answered questions about the expenditures. Instead, he retained the services of a public relation firm, hired attorneys and indicated he would take the fifth to avoid incriminating himself.
“We don’t really have an explanation from him,” Huebert said. “He believed that the issues could incriminate him, so we don’t have a lot of information as to why this happened.”
During the hearing, Liberty Justice Center attorney Jeffrey Schwab said Mautino's campaign filled up gas tanks for campaign staff and his family's personal vehicles rather than reimbursing drivers based on the miles they'd driven. The total spent over the campaign's 16 years would mean it drove 35,000 miles per year, according to the Illinois News Network.
Records exposed by the Edgar County Watchdogs revealed that most of Mautino's expenditures were rounded to a whole number, which the organization claims is odd for car repairs. For example, from 2005 to 2010, 19 expenditures were found to all have ended in a whole number. In addition to car repair costs, gas purchases made by Mautino were only one and two days apart. Some of those being the exact same total cost.
“His primary job is to ensure state funds are being spent legally," the watchdog group stated, referring to Mautino's post as Auditor General, which he assumed in January 2016. "That position requires neutrality as it relates to politics but it also should be a position that demands a personal record that is fully vetted and compliant with all laws in order to ensure the highest level of trust."
“Having been a mechanic my whole life as well as an FAA licensed Air-frame & Power plant mechanic, I have seen my share of repair bills and let’s just say I have rarely seen any that were round numbers like those we see in the itemized listings.”
The receipts and expenditures are not available because Mautino's committee closed in December 2015 and the documents "were not kept," Mautino's attorney, Sergio Acosta, said at the elections board hearing, according to The (Ottawa) Times. Acosta said the treasurer didn't what should have been reported to the board.
The Liberty Justice Center represents Streator resident David Cooke, who filed the original complaint against Mautino regarding his campaign spending habits.
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